Tausi Insider

One of the country’s largest gas-station operators is doubling its plans to install rapid chargers for electric vehicles at its locations in Western Canada – a possible glimpse of a more convenient future for EV drivers nationwide struggling with inadequate infrastructure. Parkland Corp. PKI-T, which operates stations under brands such as Chevron, Esso and Pioneer, is announcing Friday that it now plans to install between two and four charging ports at 50 of its locations, up from the 25 announced last year. Most of the new chargers will be in British Columbia, along with two stations in Alberta. The Calgary-based company’s expanded rollout is being partly subsidized by a $5-million federal grant and $1.8-million from the B.C. government. The chargers, able to top up vehicle batteries in 20 to 30 minutes, are being supplied by California-based Freewire Technologies, with which Parkland announced a partnership in October. “The idea is to create a network that allows driving from Vanco...

Bob Espey, President and Chief Executive Office of Parkland, at one of the company’s On the Run stores in Mississauga on Nov. 29, 2022. Fred Lum/Tausi Insider Last fall Bob Espey, the chief executive officer of Parkland Corp. PKI-T, stood near a maze of pipes at the company’s crude oil refinery in Burnaby, B.C., and explained how important the facility is to Parkland’s future. “The energy we produce and sell powers people’s lives every day,” he said. Later, while sampling a new chipotle grilled chicken BLT at the Mississauga test kitchen of M&M Food Market, which Calgary-based Parkland also owns, he detailed why that division was also critical to the company’s prospects. “M&M plays a central role in our diversification strategy,” he said. If hydrocarbons and hot sandwiches seem like a disjointed pairing, it speaks to the difficult position Parkland finds itself in today. For years, Parkland enjoyed a winning strategy of buying up fuel station and convenience store chains in C...